Pubdate: Tue, 20 Feb 2018
Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB)
Copyright: 2018 Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.edmontonsun.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135
Page: 14
NO NEED TO RUSH TO POT
Ontario Senator Tony Dean, sponsor of the Trudeau Liberals' pot bill
in the Upper Chamber, is upset that Canadians will not be able to
legally light up their spliffs until long after Canada Day.
He says time is of the essence, and that the government does not have
the luxury of biding it.
Why is this? Why, after more than 100 years of marijuana being
illegal, does the good senator think pushing back the smoke date by a
few weeks is the wrong thing to do?
His answer is surprising. It's not that Canadians will be sorely
disappointed, or that all the bricks are in place and they're ready to
go, but that the delay in legalization gives organized crime more time
to be the only player in the supposedly $7 billion pot industry.
We wish he were kidding but, according to a report in the CBC, Dean
was dead serious.
So, it's not about taking the criminality out of smoking pot, nor
society's changing attitudes, but it's all about the money.
It's all about the government's lust for revenue.
Dean, a 2016 senate appointee of the Trudeau Liberals, is a former
senior public servant, a professor, and the author of a Mowat
Institute report on "pathways to fiscal sustainability in Canada."
He obviously thinks pot will prop up that sustainability
We'd rather think that the legalization of marijuana has had its date
pushed back because the Senate, led by its Conservative members, need
to take a closer look at it.
There needs to be some sober second thought on whether legalization
will endanger our youth, whether it will increase smoking rates, and
how it will complicate the work of police officers.
Beyond the legal and constitutional issues, there are considerations
to be assessed on how legalized marijuana in Canada will affect our
international relations, and how it will play out at the U.S. border,
as well as borders around the world.
Getting the tax dollars rolling in sooner rather than later should be
the least of our worries since organized crime will always find a way
to get its piece of the pot pie. Sen. Dean needs to chill out. All in
good time, senator, all in good time.
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MAP posted-by: Matt